The cedillas under some letters should be dots, but the Windows 98 HTML character set won't oblige.

A note: When -a a- come together at the join in a Sanskrit compound word, they run together to form -ā-, e.g. Vedānta is from Veda-anta = "Veda end". See sandhi.

They also contain transcripts of various spiritual debates or discussions, and of the 123 books considered to be part of the Upanishads, 12 are accepted by all Hindus as primary.

The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas, their putative end and essence, and thus known as Vedānta = "End of the Veda". The term Upanishad derives from the Sanskrit words upa (near), ni (down) and şad (to sit) = "sitting down near" a spiritual teacher to receive instruction. The teachers and students appear in a variety of settings (husband answering questions about immortality, a teenage boy being taught by Death etc.). Sometimes the sages are women and at times the instructions (or rather inspiration) are sought by kings.

The major Upanishads

Different Upanishads serve as commentaries or extensions of each of the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda). The oldest and longest Upanishads are the Bŗhadāraņyaka and the Chhāndogya; scholars' opinions vary on when they first were written and estimates range between the 16th to 7th century BCE. Most scholars agree that many of the early Upanishads were written before the time of Buddha. Initially there were over two hundred Upanishads, but the philosopher Shankara only considered fifteen or so to be primary. The Upanishads were not fully recorded until 1656, at the order of Dara Shakoh.

These philosophical and meditative tracts form the backbone of Hindu thought. Of the early Upanishads, the Aitareya and Kauşītāki belong to the Rig Veda, Kena and Chhāndogya to the Samaveda, Īşa and Taittirīya and Bŗhadāraņyaka to the Yajurveda, and Praşna and Muņd.aka to the Atharvaveda. (Associated Upanishad and Vedic book information taken from Radhakrishnan Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1.)

In addition, the Māņd.ukya, Katha, Şvetāşvatara are very important. Others also include Mahānārāyaņa and Maitreyi Upanishads as key.

A site that does well in summarizing the Upanishads is to be found here (http://www.indianest.com/hinduism/037.htm). Eknath Easwaran's translations of the major Upanishads is also an excellent source.

Origins

Scholarly breakdowns of the Vedic books see the four Vedas as poetic liturgy, collectively called mantras or sam.hitā-s, adoration and supplication to a sort of melded monist and henotheist notion of the Gods/Goddesses and an overarching Order (Ŗta) that transcended even the Gods and stemmed from One Ultimate Source.

The Brāhmaņas were a collection of ritual instructions, books detailing the priestly functions (which first were available to all men, and so concretized into strictly Brahmin privilege). These came after the Mantras.

Then we have the Upanishads, which consist of the Aranyakas and Upanishads. `Araņyaka' means "of the forest", and these most probably grew as a sort of subtle rejection of the Brāhmaņas: they detail meditative yogic practices, contemplations of the mystic one and the manifold manifested principles. The Upanishads basically realized all the monist and universal mystical ideas that started in earlier Vedic hymns, and have exerted an influence unprecedented on the rest of Hindu and Indian philosophy. However, by adherents they are not considered philosophy alone, and form meditations and practical teachings for those advanced enough to benefit from their wisdom.

The Upanishads give no clue as to when and who composed these texts. This anonymity emphasizes the eternal nature of the truths within. Often, critics of the Hindu/Vedic tradition will use the term Brahminical to imply a karma-kanda, or ritual-based mode of worship, a priests' word that loses sight of deeper spirituality. However, it is widely acknowledged that those who wrote the mystic verse of the Upanishads were in all likelihood Brahmins as well.

Contents

The Taittiriya Upanishad says this in the Ninth Chapter:
"He who knows the Bliss of Brahman, whence words together with the mind turn away, unable to reach It? He is not afraid of anything whatsoever. He does not distress himself with the thought: "Why did I not do what is good? Why did I do what is evil?". Whosoever knows this regards both these as Atman; indeed he cherishes both these as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman."

The Upanishads hold information on basic Hindu beliefs, including belief in a world soul, a universal spirit, Brahman, and an individual soul, Atman (Smith 10). A variety of lesser gods are seen as aspects of this one impersonal divine ground, Brahman (not Brahma). Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or ever shall be. Brahman is not a God in the monotheistic sense, as it is not imbued with any limiting characteristics, not even those of being and non-being, and this is reflected in the fact that in Sanskrit, the word brahman is of neuter (as opposed to masculine or feminine) gender.

"Who is the Knower" "What makes my mind think?" "Does life have a purpose, or is it governed by chance?" "What is the cause of the Cosmos?" The sages of the Upanishad try to solve these mysteries and seek knowledge of a Reality beyond ordinary knowing. They also show a preoccupation with states of consciousness, and observed and analysed dreams as well as dreamless sleep.

The philosophy of the Upanishads

Due to their mystic nature and intense philosophical bent that does away with all ritual and completely embraces principals of One Brahman and the inner Atman, the Upanishads have a universal feel that has led to their explication in numerous manners, giving birth to the three schools of Vedanta.

To sum up all the Upanishads in one phrase would be "Tat Twam Asi" (Thou Art That). In the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination and piercing through Maya.

A distinctive quotation that is indicative of the call to self-realization, one that inspired Somerset Maugham in titling a book he wrote on Christopher Isherwood, is as follows:
"Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of anIllumined teacher and realize the Self.
Sharp like a razor's edge is the path,The sages say, difficult to traverse."
--- Death Instructing Nachiketa in the Katha (Word) Upanishad

The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of aum as the divine word, the cosmic vibration that underlies all existence and contains multiple trinities of being and principles subsumed into its One Self.
The Isha says of the Self:
"Whoever sees all beings in the souland the soul in all beingsdoes not shrink away from this.In whom all beings have become one with the knowing soulwhat delusion or sorrow is there for the one who sees unity?It has filled all.It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable,without tendons, pure, untouched by evil.Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self-existent,it organizes objects throughout eternity."

"Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti" This, too, is found first in the Upanishads, the call for tranquility, for divine stillness, for Peace everlasting.

19 Upanişads are from Shukla Yajurveda and have the Shānti beginning `pūrņamada'.
32 Upanişads are from Kŗşna Yajurveda and have the Shānti beginning `sahanāvavatu'.
16 Upanişads are from Sāmaveda and have the Shānti beginning `āpyāyantu'.
31 Upanişads are from Atharvaveda and have the Shānti beginning `bhadram-karņebhiH'.
10 Upanişads are from Ŗgveda and have the Shānti beginning `vaņme-manasi'.
The list of the 108 Upanişads can be found in Muktika 1: 30-39. Please note that the classification of each Upanişad is not give in the Muktika.